Jane Austen's Rules of Romance

While some things never change and the battle of the sexes rages on, there are many new twists to the modern plot to achieve marital bliss. Just imagine what Jane's mothers would have done with the possiblities of today's social media. Why they would have been all a-'Twitter' with excitement. To see that diamond ring symbol on a daughter's Facebook page announcing her engagement, there could be nothing more highly coveted. And while Jane's singles had to move from city to country life, following society's seasons in the hope of attaching someone, we can now check someone out online, have a few virtual dates and fix the whole thing up. In fact, following the crowd from London parties to Bath estates, all in the hope of attracting Mr. Right, could very well be the first literary reference to 'speed dating.' '"Selfishness must always be forgiven you know,because there is no hope of a cure" - Mansfield Park "Gossip…something to relate that is entertaining and profitable, something that makes one know one's species better." - Persuasion "There is nothing people are so often deceived in as the state of their own feelings." Northanger Abbey